As the saying goes, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. But the Northwestern men’s rugby team will be the first to tell you that the game is a lot more fun when you’re on the winning side.
NU, which has been on the short end of three blowouts this spring, reversed its fortune with a resounding 31-7 win over Loyola on Friday for its first victory of the season. Following the win, NU took back the Northside Cup, a trophy that passes between the two teams and carries the bragging rights of the dominant team on the North Shore.
“It’s not much of a trophy, it’s actually a piece of pottery,” sophomore Matt Weil said. “It has no value except for what it signifies. It’s nice to have it back.”
Loyola, which had won the last two meetings between the schools, jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 10 minutes.
“We just said, ‘We have to clean up the mistakes,'” Weil said. “The team kind of woke up. People were a little bit sleepy out there.”
NU stayed composed and kept itself in the game with relentless defense, including a tough goal-line stance that prevented Loyola from scoring. NU’s offense attacked Loyola throughout the game, reeling off 31 unanswered points before time expired.
VICTORY IN DEFEAT: The NU men’s ultimate frisbee team exceeded its expectations this year, ending the season with a ninth-place finish at regional competition on Saturday.
No. 14 seed NU dropped its first game 15-5 to the host, No. 3 seed Ohio State. Although Ohio State, one of the top 15 teams in the country, proved to be a most formidable opponent, getting to the game itself was nearly as difficult.
A gas leak in one of NU’s team vans prevented seven players, including five starters, from reaching Columbus, Ohio, until 3 a.m. Saturday morning. The players slept for less than three hours before the 8 a.m. game, a setback that Ohio State and its 25-man roster exploited.
“We were pretty sloppy,” team captain Arjun Venkatesh said. “You could tell from the way we played that we were tired.”
NU shook off the loss and upset Case Western 15-11 in a see-saw battle. Despite clinging to a one-point lead at halftime, NU’s 7-4 second-half run sealed the victory.
NU lost its final game 14-12 to fifth-seeded Notre Dame, a loss that left NU players saddened by the season’s conclusion but excited by the level of play they achieved.
“If you’re going to go out on a loss, that’s the way to do it,” said Venkatesh, the only graduating player. “I think our team in general thinks we can beat some of the best teams in the region, and I don’t know if we believed that before this weekend.”
NON-STOP HITS: The NU club baseball team entered Friday’s doubleheader against Columbia (Chicago) hoping to give its hitters more confidence. Now they might have to worry about avoiding arrogance.
NU shelled Columbia in both games for a combined score of 22-1, winning both contests by way of the slaughter rule.
“If a slaughter is ever going to be expected, it’s against this team,” NU captain Luke Winn said. “It went as planned.”
NU won the first game by the score of 11-1 in six innings, as shortstop Jeff Wilen went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. NU cruised to an 11-0 win in Game 2, with Lucas Koerner pitching three shutout innings for the win.
NU will travel to Madison, Wis., on Friday to begin its eight-team, double-elimination postseason tournament. NU enters as the No. 2 seed and will play against Wisconsin’s B-team, the No. 7 seed.
ON THE LINE: Gung-Ho, the NU women’s ultimate frisbee team, didn’t think it would be this difficult to qualify for the national championships. But after an unexpected 13-7 loss to Indiana on Sunday, NU’s season hangs in the balance entering a consolation bracket championship game with Case Western on Sunday. That matchup will determine who advances to nationals.
NU, the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament, made short work of its first four opponents on Saturday: Notre Dame, Illinois, Oberlin and Hope. Sunday, NU advanced to a double-elimination pool with seven other teams, defeating Purdue and Ohio before the loss to Indiana.
“On Sunday we got tired, lazy and a bit over-confident,” co-captain Nancy Ketsche said. “But if we end up going to nationals, we will have learned a lot more from regionals than we would have otherwise.”
